It is well known that motorcyclists in general are susceptible of sustaining relatively dangerous accidents. Indeed, not only is the motorcycle a relatively unstable vehicle but the motorcycle rider is left with little protection from the vehicle in the event of an accident, a crash or the like. The same applies to any non enclosed vehicle, such as a snowmobile or an ATV.
Accordingly, it is common practice for motorcyclists to attempt to protect themselves from injuries by wearing a protective headgear, such as a safety helmet or the like. Also, motorcycle riders typically wear a leather suit or the like intended primarily the minimize exterior friction causing damage to the surface portion of the motorcyclist's body if the latter is thrown from the motorcycle during an accident.
Such relatively thick leather surfaced garments may provide a minor degree of cushioning effect, but this is very limited in magnitude and is relatively ineffective. Indeed, while such clothing may be quite protective against abrasion, the impact protection provided thereby is very limited as substantial padding is impractical.
In other fields such as in the field of automobiles, it has now become current practice to provide inflatable devices such as inflatable bags, often called air bags that are inflated automatically in the event of a crash. Where such devices are proposed for crash protection, they are designed to protect the rider while in the vehicle, and not in the event he/she jumps or is thrown from it.
An adequate inflatable crash protection device for motorcycle riders must satisfy a number of conditions that are entirely different front those desired for automobile crash protection. Indeed, motorcycles seldom strike obstacles directly head on.
Motorcyclists usually attempt to avoid the crash and therefore, the conventional automobile air bags mounted on conventional motorcycles would seldom afford adequate protection. Although it is rarity for an automobile driver or passenger to be thrown from the car in the event of a crash, the reverse is true for the motorcyclist who almost invariably jumps or is thrown from the motorcycle in the event of a crash of sufficient magnitude. Also, motorcyclists will often anticipate a crash a considerable time before it takes place. In many instances the motorcyclist can take evasive action to reduce the speed or minimize the crash. Frequently the motorcyclist will elect to jump clear of the motorcycle just before the crash.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a crash protection device specifically adapted for use with motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATV or the like wherein the vehicle itself affords scant protection to the rider in the event of a crash or collision.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that is specifically adapted to give full body protection against potential injuries resulting from impact between a rider of a non enclosed vehicle and its environment in crash and other emergency situations.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that is adapted to temporarily protectively surround the rider and provides a cushioning barrier for the rider.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that is provided with a trigger means adapted to selectively trigger an inflation or other type of deployment of a cushioning structure upon sensing predetermined dangerous conditions.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that allows a deployed cushioning component to gradually deflate the garment according to a predetermined time pattern.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that is specifically designed so as to be easily retro-fitted or originally mounted to conventional types of motorcycles or the like vehicles without altering their overall aesthetical and functional aspects and without substantially increasing the manufacturing cost thereof.